Writing a letter to the editor

Dotson, Bryan

doi:10.2146/ajhp120423

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…That is why a correspondence column is mandated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors'. Dotson (2013) • Letters are a 'form of postpublication peer review that is important in holding authors and editors accountable for the content of articles'. • Letters are 'valuable to readers of the journal because [letters] can enhance [a reader's] understanding of recently published articles and others issues of interest'.…”

Section: Referencementioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary evidence that letters to the editor are indexed inconsistently in PubMed and in exercise science and physical therapy journals: Implications and resolutions

Nuzzo¹

2020

Learned Publishing

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Letters to the editor are important to science because they are a form of post-publication review.• Examination of 3,203 letters published in exercise science and physical therapy journals revealed letters are indexed inconsistently.• Issues exist with letter titles, letter authorship, and letter digital object identifiers (DOIs) and PubMed identifiers (PMIDs).• Implications are that some letters are difficult to discover and cite, and some letter writers are not recognized for their intellectual contributions.• Resolutions include indexing letters in PubMed under the "letter"[pt] search term and indexing each letter with the author's name, a distinct but consistently formatted title, and a unique DOI and PMID.

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Section: Referencementioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary evidence that letters to the editor are indexed inconsistently in PubMed and in exercise science and physical therapy journals: Implications and resolutions

Nuzzo¹

2020

Learned Publishing

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“…Besides, contrary opinions revealed may be concealed "under the noise" of the encounter. [8] In most of the journals letters are evaluated as other manuscripts. Submission of a letter, writing rules, and evaluation steps resemble to those required for manuscripts.…”

Section: Format Of the Letters To The Editor And Related Rulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to write an editorial letter?

Süer

Yaman

2014

Turkish Journal of Urology

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In most journals, there are letters or answers sections. Letters to the editor are usually a type of short communication that can be written on any topic that attracts the attention of the readers. Although articles are stringently vetted before publication in a journal, some issues can still go unnoticed. In this situation, readers can offer their interpretations by writing a letter to the editor. Thus, letters are also a control mechanism that facilitates progress after an article has been published. One of the most important aspects of a letter to the editor is that it must be short. It is known that a letter is more easily accessible to readers when the message is short and brief. The letter to the editor or author must make reference to objectives or discussions on medical, scientific or general topics that may attract attention. A letter must have a purpose, and it should convey its message in a short and definitive fashion.

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“…However, editors of medical journals have a great deal of latitude in how they fulfill the ICMJE requirement, allowing them to dictate the form and content of Letters included in their publications. Due to space constraints (often a remnant of print publishing), many journals impose limits on the number of words, authors, references, and figures allowed [5,7]. Some journals accept only Letters written in response to articles published in that journal, often with time restrictions following publication of the original article [6][7][8], while others accept Letters on any relevant topic, at any time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to space constraints (often a remnant of print publishing), many journals impose limits on the number of words, authors, references, and figures allowed [5,7]. Some journals accept only Letters written in response to articles published in that journal, often with time restrictions following publication of the original article [6][7][8], while others accept Letters on any relevant topic, at any time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A second and far more important function of these two types of Letters is to serve as a form of post-publication peer review in which readers have the opportunity to raise questions, concerns, or criticisms of published papers [ 3 , 7 – 8 ], thus playing “an important corrective role in science” [ 9 ]. For example, Letters written in response to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) frequently raise important questions regarding the methodology employed, especially relating to the population, intervention, and analysis [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Letters to the editor on the Zika virus: a bibliometric analysis

Delwiche

2021

jmla

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Objective: To conduct a bibliometric analysis of Letters to the Editor published on the Zika virus from 1952–2018.Methods: A PubMed search was conducted using the terms (Zika OR ZIKV). Results were limited to 1952–2018 and Publication Type = Letter. Results were exported to EndNote, and the full text of each Letter examined. Each Letter was assigned to one of five categories: Reader Response, Author Reply, Observation, Case Report, or Research. Additional study parameters included number of authors, number of references, use of graphics, and funding. Citation reports were generated for each category and the entire dataset, producing lists sorted by Times Cited.Results: Of 499 Letters, only 15 (3.0%) were published before 2016. In 2016, at the height of the Zika virus epidemic in the Americas, 244 (48.9%) Letters were published, dropping to 145 (29.1%) in 2017 and 95 (19.0%) in 2018. Letters included 149 (29.9%) Reader Responses, 56 (11.2%) Author Replies, 112 (22.4%) Observations, 70 (14.0%) Case Reports, and 112 (22.4%) Research. The Letters were written by 1–35 authors; 369 (74.0%) Letters had 1–5 authors, and 130 (26.0%) had 6 or more. The Letters cited 0–63 references, with an average of 7.0 per Letter. Graphics appeared in 192 (38.5%) Letters, and 77 (15.4%) Letters reported funding. An interesting anomaly was the 104 (20.8%) Letters authored or co-authored by 1 individual.Conclusion: Letters to the Editor remain an important component of scientific communication and may serve as a valuable source of clinical and research information.

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Writing a letter to the editor

Cited by 16 publications

References 3 publications

Preliminary evidence that letters to the editor are indexed inconsistently in PubMed and in exercise science and physical therapy journals: Implications and resolutions

Preliminary evidence that letters to the editor are indexed inconsistently in PubMed and in exercise science and physical therapy journals: Implications and resolutions

How to write an editorial letter?

Letters to the editor on the Zika virus: a bibliometric analysis

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